Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told the 20-year-old daughter of an opposition party leader to run for the LDP during a meeting Friday to celebrate her win in a beauty pageant.
Mika Matsuno, a sophomore at Keio University's Faculty of Letters, visited Abe at his office in Tokyo after being crowned winner of the 2016 Miss Nippon beauty pageant in January.
Matsuno told Abe that she aspired to become a politician, following in the footsteps of her father, Yorihisa Matsuno, head of Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), which is the third-largest opposition force in Japan.
"In that event, please run for the Liberal Democratic Party," the prime minister suggested.
The LDP, headed by Abe, forms the ruling coalition with its junior partner, Komeito.
The prime minister also told Matsuno she resembled her father.
Matsuno won the pageant over 2,800 contestants from across Japan.
